


Junior is still Junior

by Wheel_of_fortune



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, but otherwise pure softness, the locker incident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 17:31:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11407173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wheel_of_fortune/pseuds/Wheel_of_fortune
Summary: - Son, I don’t want to pry, but… I thought you liked men?- Even I could turn straight for Beyoncé, Coach!(What if Coach new from the beginning. Pure love.)





	Junior is still Junior

 

The stadium was slowly emptying. The locker room was empty, the players gone to celebrate their win, Richard Bittle was busy closing and locking doors. When he turned around, he was surprised to see one of his players waiting for him, twisting the hem of his Georgia Football sweater.

\- Huh… Coach? can I talk to you? 

\- Sure, Masterson, what is it?

\- Huh…

The kid looked behind him, at the closed locker door. He seemed afraid.

\- It’s about your son, Sir. The guys made us swear we wouldn’t tell, but-

Something cold grabbed Richard’s insides. Soon he was running to a deserted corridor, opening a locker door that was never used, and finding his own son lying on the cold ground, covered in bruises.

\- Junior, Junior answer me-

He took the shivering boy in his arms. Junior, thank the Lord, opened his good eye. 

\- …Coach? 

\- I’m here, son, I’m here. What happened to you, who did this-

\- They- they said I was a faggot, Coach. I’m sorry, I should have been stronger, I should have-

\- Nonsense, it’s not your fault, come here.

And holding his son against him, he barely heard the tiny voice whisper:

\- But what if I am? What if I’m gay?

Richard didn’t have the words, so he held his son tighter.

 

* * *

 

Richard had made his decision before even reaching the house, so when later, that night, after the tears and the reassurances, after Junior finally fell asleep, his bruises and cuts tended to, he sat down at the kitchen table with Suzanne.

\- Richard, I know they’re your team, but-

\- I will send my resignation in the morning. Madison High School wants me, I’ll call them as soon as I can.

\- Oh. Okay. I was afraid that…

\- Suzie, he’s our son. 

\- Yes. I’m sorry. But what about his figure skating? You know Katya is the best…

\- That’s up to him.

If Richard was relieved that Junior chose to play Hockey instead, he kept it to himself. 

 

* * *

 

The front door slammed, and Junior let his hockey bag fall to the floor.

-That Tyler is a real-

\- Language, interrupted Richard without lifting his eyes from the newspaper.

\- Sorry Coach, mumbled Junior, sitting down in front of him, crossing his arms. It’s just that he’s been acting like a real jerk, showing off and saying stupid stuff…

\- Last week you talked about how good he was at hockey for a good ten minutes without breathing. What happened since?

Junior placed his head on the table and mumbled something.

\- Didn’t hear you, son.

\- …He got a girlfriend.

\- Ah, said Richard, turning a new page. Sorry to hear about that.

\- Yeah.

Junior spent the afternoon transforming the kitchen into a war zone. 

 

* * *

 

The posters of male athletes he could understand. Suzanne had told him she had covered her dorm room at College with Football players and even some Hockey players, one with a German name he couldn’t remember. He never quite understood the appeal of men, but he couldn’t fault his son for his taste. Those were GOOD athletes.

The poster of women, he still didn’t get.

\- OH MY GOT IT’S HERE! squealed Junior, opening a long cardboard tube and extricating a huge poster that he flattened on the table.

It was the image of a beautiful black woman, wearing very little clothing.

\- Don’t you already have the same one above your bed?

\- This one is from her new tour! It’s beautiful!

\- Son, I don’t want to pry, but… I thought you liked men?

\- Even I could turn straight for Beyoncé, Coach!

And that was the only explanation he would get. Well, the woman WAS incredibly beautiful.

 

* * *

 

\- But Dicky, that school is so far! said Suzanne, looking at the pamphlets.

\- Yeah, but they got a good hockey team! And- and… They say it’s super friendly to people huh… people like me.

“Most welcoming LGBTQIA+ school in the US!” said the reviews.

\- And you think you would be okay? There? asked Richard.

\- … Yeah.

\- Alright. 

 

* * *

 

\- And they’re all giants, Richard! That Adam boy was easily seven feet, I swear! Our Dicky looked so tiny next to them! Even the Zimmermann boy looked gigantic-

\- What was the nickname they gave him, again? asked Richard to derail another conversation about Bob Zimmermann. 

\- Bitty, can you believe it? He answers to that name as if he was baptized with it. 

\- And how’s the team with him? There any trouble?

\- They ADORE him, I swear. Mostly because of his pies, but they seem to genuinely like him for the rest, too. Maybe he’ll be okay.

\- Maybe. 

He hoped.

 

* * *

 

\- I came out to Shitty, said the tiny voice from the laptop speaker.

Richard turned his head.

\- Oh? said Suzanne. And how did Mister Crappy take it?

\- He was- Mama, he was great! He said things like “I am honored you trust me with this,” and that a lot of people came out to him, even four or five in the same week, once! And he said that the team had my back!

\- I’m so happy for you, Dicky!

There were tears in Suzanne’s eyes. Richard wasn’t one to cry, but he did let out a relieved sigh.

 

* * *

 

\- … And when I told them I liked men, that didn’t even stop them! They made me check at least fifty facebook profiles so I could pick a date for Winter Screw!

\- Glad that your friends took it well, then, said Richard, waiting for Suzanne to come back from the bathroom.

\- They want me to meet the whole soccer team!

\- What, the soccer team is gay? All of them?

\- Well, not all of them, but if you throw a rock in the soccer field you have a better chance to hit a gay guy than a straight one.

\- So why aren’t you dating them?

\- What, the WHOLE team? Coach! I’m not like that!

\- No, but you could start with one? They’re athletes?

\- They call their sport football, cringes Junior.

Richard cringes too.

 

* * *

 

\- … at four in the morning! And he expects me to be happy about it!

Richard should make a house rule: No talking about the Zimmermanns more than ten minutes at a time. Sure, he was happy to see Junior back for the winter holidays, but there should be a limit.

Junior placed the pie in the oven and came to sit in front of Richard. He sighed, loudly, and placed his head against the table.

\- He’s just SO INFURIATING-

\- I remember you acting the same over the Thompson boy.

Junior lifted his head in an outraged gasp.

\- Sir! Tyler is not AT ALL like Jack Zimmermann! Tyler was sweet and nice and passionate and-

At least he wasn’t talking about the Zimmermann boy anymore.

 

* * *

 

Seeing Junior back for the summer with a concussion brought back bad memories for both his parents. Suzanne dealt with it by hovering above the boy, Richard by reading everything he could on hockey.

\- Mom, I’m fine, I swear, you know I could bake this pie if I was comatose-

\- Eric Richard Bittle do NOT speak like this-

Junior's cell phone rang. Richard prided himself on recognising a song by Beyoncé. 

\- Jack- hi! How are you? Yes, I am good. Yes. Okay, you too? Have a good summer?

Junior hung up, looking weirded out.

\- This boy, he sighed. So awkward, but such a nice Captain.

\- Oh? How’s Jack? And how is his father?

And here they go again, sighs Richard, rising the volume of the tv.

 

* * *

 

\- …And they we had to make a pie for our class, and you should have seen Jack, completely covered in flour, looking like a lost puppy-

At this point, Richard knew more about the Zimmermann boy than he knew about his own son.

 

* * *

 

\- Hi Coach! 

\- Hey son. So, how was school-

\- CanJackcomeoverforthefourthofJuly?

\- …School was good, I see.

Junior went beet red and went to hide in the kitchen. Suzanne smirked and sat down on the couch, snuggled next to him.

\- So, what do you think about inviting Jack over?

\- I think that I’ll never stop hearing about the Zimmermann family, will I?

 

 


End file.
